Airbag Inside launches airbag jeans for motorcycle riders

In partnership with French airbag company Helite, Swedish fashion-tech startup Airbag Inside Sweden has launched Mo’cycle Airbag Jeans, an airbag in the form of denim trousers to provide enhanced protection for motorcycle riders.

While the airbag appears like regular jeans, it offers high-impact protection for the rider’s lower body, including hips, thighs, knees, and tailbone. Dubbed the “safest motorcycle jeans in the world,” Mo’cycle Airbag Jeans activate upon sensing the rider being physically removed from the vehicle at a force of 40 kilograms per second.

The impact will trigger a spring-loaded piston to pierce the jeans’ CO2 cartridge and inflate the airbag. The whole activation process takes only a few milliseconds. Once activated, the airbag will self-deflate, and the rider can use it again by refiling the jeans with a new CO2 cartridge.

The Ultra High Molecular Weight Polyethylene (UHMWPE) material used in the airbag is five times more resistant to abrasion compared to other sturdy materials, like Kevlar. It is also 40 percent lighter, has better resistance to ultraviolet light exposure and has greater tensile strength. It is also wearable regardless of the weather conditions because the jeans are waterproof and breathable.

The production of Mo’cycle Airbag Jeans only recently moved from the prototype stage into a full-scale one. However, the startup claimed that it had already manufactured 200 units and promised more to come.

In addition to the jeans airbag, Airbag Inside has earlier launched an airbag vest to protect riders from impacts to the upper body. Founder Moses Shahrivar explained that his startup would eventually launch a wide range of products.

“The whole concept is still new for riders,” Shahrivar said. “So, I believe the awareness for Airbag Jeans will soon increase dramatically.”

Airbag Jeans received funding from the European Union’s Horizon research and innovation programme in 2020. The following year, the startup’s Mo’cycle raised around €280,000 from Draknästet — the Swedish version of the British show Dragon’s Den and the American Shark Tank.